*Basic Category 3 includes a weekly rental, with unlimited miles, for an economy car with A/C and manual transmission (not automatic); and, does not include guided tours, admissions, cooking school, illumination cruise, meals, or meet and transfer.

• Meet and greet with our rep at the airport in Paris
  
• Eleven nights in first class, superior, or deluxe hotels and chateaux
• Daily continental breakfast
• Nine days rental, with unlimited miles, of standard sized car (Opel Vectra or similar) with automatic    transmission and A/C
• Half day guided tour in Normandy
• Pre-paid admission to three royal chateaux: Chenonceau, Chambord, and Versailles
• 2 half day guided tours in Paris
• Illumination dinner cruise in Paris
• Paris fashion show
• Extensive pre-tour assistance including a practical and cultural guide
• Travel bag, passport wallet, name badge, and luggage tags

U.S.A. /Paris
Day 1
Depart U.S.A. for France. Meals Aloft

To adjust your body clock to the new time zone, discipline yourself to stay awake until this evening. This afternoon, visit idyllic Giverny.  A palette of color at Claude Monet’s gardens salutes you.  “All my money goes into my garden,” Monet said, “And I am in raptures.”  Visit the Impressionist’s home, with it’s roughcast pink façade and studio, surrounded by two distinct gardens, the Clos Normand flower garden, and the water garden with its Japanese bridge and water lilies. Upon returning to Vernon explore the medieval half-timbered streets, 11^th-to 17^th-century church, and 12^th-century castle tower. B Aloft

Vernon/Pont-Audemer (Les Andelys/Rouen)
Day 3

This morning, take the short drive to Les Andelys where you visit Chateau Gaillard, built by Richard the Lionheart in 1196 for its panoramic and strategic promontory position. Then enjoy a walking tour of the highlights of the old city of Rouen: the cathedral,  easily recognizable by Monet’s famous series of paintings, the 15^th-century Justice Palace, the Renaissance clock, and Old Market Square. Famed for its three historical figures, Gustave Flaubert who was born here, Joan of Arc who was burned here, and Claude Monet who painted here, Rouen is a cultural treasure dating to the Gallo-Roman era.

Heading west from Rouen, trace the Abbey Route from  the Abbey of Jumieges, the site of William the Conqueror’s consecration in 1067, to the medieval Benedictine Monastery of St. Wandrille. Then, immersed in the richness of Maritime-Norman history, explore Caudebec-en-Caux, a village nestled in a wooded setting on the river banks, where you visit its 16^th-century flamboyant Gothic church.

At the end of the day, select a charming boutique hotel or chateau from our list and check in for two nights.  B

 Then, on to Trouville where in 1825 a young Parisian landscape artist, Charles Mozin, found himself seduced by the charming little fishing port.  On his return to Paris he constantly sung the praises of Trouville and with his canvasses on exhibition in the Parisian “salons” he began to awaken the curiosity of other artists such as  Monet and  Boudin and writers such as  Alexandre Dumas. As a result, superb houses, hotels, and casinos were built here.  Visit the Montebello Villa, a typical “high society” seaside residence from the Second Empire.   

 Returning in late afternoon to your hotel, drive through the remnants of 19^th-century aristocracy and visit Deauville, the famous jet set resort known for its wooden plank beach promenade and celebrities. B

Pont-Audemer/Bayeaux (Cote Fleurie/Memorial Peace Museum)
Day 5
Check out of the hotel and drive the stretch of coast between the estuaries of the Orne and Seine Rivers, experience the Côte Fleurie, stopping at the Chateau Breuil with time to taste local cheeses and Normandy’s famous apple brandy. If you get an early start this morning, you may also want to drive though the verdant “Pays d’Auge”, its green pastures dotted with charming thatch roof farms and quietly grazing black and white cattle.

 This afternoon you might want to visit the impressive Memorial Peace Museum, near Caen, which provides particular insight into the Battle of Normandy and D-Day.  Or you can spend the afternoon at the beach, engage in water sports, fish, play golf or tennis, go horseback riding, hiking or biking, or take an exhilirating ride over Normandy in a  hot air balloon.

 Choose between charming boutique hotels and chateau in the Bayeaux area, your home for two nights.  B

Bayeaux (Landing Beaches of Normandy)
Day 6
You will meet your guide in Bayeaux this morning and take a half day tour of the World War II Landing Beaches of Normandy.  “Omaha” and “Utah” were the code names for stretches of land where American troops landed on June 6, 1944, an invasion vast in size and casualties.  Visit the Landings Museum, which lies in front of the relics of the artificial harbor built by the allies.  It is a permanent exhibition dedicated to the incredible work undertaken by the allies from D-Day onwards.  Continue to Colleville St. Laurent to visit the American Cemetery situated on the cliffs overlooking Omaha Beach, where 9,835 soldiers lie buried under a sea of white Carrara marble headstones.  It is a moving place for quiet reflection and remembrance.  Pointe du Hoc is the site of the German artillery batteries and the ensuing combat. 

 This afternoon, explore Bayeaux, which is one of the oldest and most picturesque towns in Normandy. Be sure to get a picture from Quai de l’ Aure of the old watermill and of the fine medieval houses along that street. Near the awesome 13^th century Norman Gothic cathedral, Notre Dame, the Centre Guillaume le’ Conquerant houses the Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde. The Bayeaux Tapestry, as it is blandly called in English, is considered by some experts to be the most interesting relic in France. It is embroidered on linen tapestry, retracing William’s conquest of England and the Battle of Hastings, and is thought to have been commissioned in England shortly after the great battle.  Then visit the Cathedral, where the crypt, the great towers and the lower part of the nave date from the Norman Gothic period, and the chancel, chapter house, nave chapels, and the five-doored façade all date from the late gothic period.

 Return this evening to your hotel or chateau. B

Bayeaux/Central Loire Valley(Mont-St-Michel/Saint-Malo)
Day 7
Drive to the “Merveille de l’Occident,” Mont-Saint-Michel, where a Romanesque and Gothic church and abbey complex crowns a granite outcropping, one of France’s renowned UNESCO World Heritage Sites. This is perhaps the most famous tourist site in France other than the Eiffel Tower and, if you go in summer, be prepared for huge crowds and long lines.

 Depending on how much energy you have upon leaving Mont-St-Michelle, you could take the short drive along the coast into Brittany and see Saint-Malo’s historic district, seaside ramparts, and 14^th-to 17^th-century towers, a landmark where the Rance River flows into the English Channel.

 This afternoon, take the motorway south to the “Corniche Angevine,” a route that takes in the Loire’s higher hills and promontories and offers lovely views across the Loire Valley. Near Saumur, visit Doué la Fontaine, a troglodyte village dating to a period in the Middle Ages when the townspeople lived in caves while extracting tufa, a stone renowned for its light-reflecting properties and much sought after as a building material for the valley’s châteaux and abbeys.

 Check in for two nights at the chateau or boutique hotel in the central Loire Valley that you have selected  from our list. B

 You may also have time to explore Saumur, a medieval town complete with 15^th century chateau which is built on a peninsula formed by the confluence of the Loire and Thouet rivers. The chateau houses two museums featuring the decorative arts and the horse. Saumur is small and easily navigated. 

 Drive to the medieval city of Chinon and discover for yourself why it is  famous for its vineyards.  In a local cellar, enjoy a tasting of Chinon’s renowned, ruby-red wine, much lauded by François Rabelais. If you do not have  a “designated driver”, we will provide one. (Extra cost.)

 Return to your Loire Valley chateau or hotel  this evening. B

 Leaving Chenonceau, drive to the prestigious Domaine de Chambord and discover the prolific wildlife in this 5,440-hectare forested park, surrounded by an 18-1/2-mile-long wall that effectively contains its many large game animals.  Enjoy lunch in the château restaurant before setting off for a visit to the sumptuous Château de Chambord, largest of the Loire castles.  This unique, 440-room Renaissance structure was built by François I as a monumental showplace to impress his fellow reigning monarchs.  Towers, turrets, steeples and an astounding 365 chimneys appear on its skyline seemingly at random.

 If time permits see the pretty medieval town of Amboise and the Clos Luce, Leonardo da Vinci’s home. Late this afternoon, drive to the hotel you have selected from our list in the Ile de France (outskirts of Paris). B

 Unless you want to drive in the center of Paris, which is not recommended, turn in the rental car at Orly Airport and take a taxi to the hotel in Paris selected from our list and check in for three nights.  B

Explore the city with a morning orientation tour that includes the famous Arc de Triomphe, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, a magnificent Gothic masterpiece and UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Louvre Museum, the Champs-Elysées, the Eiffel Tower, the Trocadero, the Invalides, Place des Vosges,  Place Vendome,  and Place de la Concorde.

This afternoon, shop or window shop on the elegant Champs-Elysées or see the parts of the Louvre that you missed in the quick tour this morning.

 You have pre-paid reservations tonight on an illumination dinner cruise. Paris, the culmination of French culture, reveals its Gothic, Renaissance and modern faces from the banks of the River Seine, itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  From the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower, and the Place de la Concorde to the Grand and Petite Palais, the evolution of Paris unfolds before your eyes during this illumination cruise.

 Return to your Paris hotel this evening. B

 No visit to Paris would be complete without a tour of its famous markets displaying ingredients which are the basis of French cooking. This afternoon, walk down the steeply winding rue de Buci and rue de Seine, where small, domestic shops artistically display the freshest of produce just arrived during the night from the French provinces.  The lively interaction between buyer and seller is an important ingredient in the Parisian texture of culture. 

 Then visit world-famous cheese shops where, collectively, more than 200 types of cheeses are displayed, and tour one of the fashionable delicatessens for which Paris in known. Evening at leisure to pursue your own interests. Return to  your Paris  hotel this evening. B